In a typical cellular network, also referred to as a wireless communication system, User Equipments (UEs), communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more Core Networks (CNs).
A user equipment is a mobile terminal by which a subscriber may access services offered by an operator's core network and services outside operator's network to which the operator's RAN and CN provide access. The user equipments may be for example communication devices such as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, or laptops with wireless capability. The user equipments may be portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the radio access network, with another entity, such as another mobile station or a server.
User equipments are enabled to communicate wirelessly in the cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g. between two user equipments, between a user equipment and a regular telephone and/or between the user equipment and a server via the radio access network and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the cellular network.
The cellular network covers a geographical area which is divided into cell areas. Each cell area is served by a base station, e.g. a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g. evolved Node B (eNB), “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, or BTS (Base Transceiver Station), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the user equipments within range of the base stations.
In a typical cellular system, also referred to as a wireless communications network, wireless terminals, also known as mobile stations and/or User Equipment units communicate via Radio Access Networks (RAN) to a core network The wireless terminals may be mobile stations or user equipments such as mobile telephones also known as cellular telephones, and laptops with wireless capability, e.g., mobile termination, and thus may be, for example, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or car-mounted mobile devices which communicate voice and/or data with radio access network.
The radio access network covers a geographical area which is divided into cell areas, with each cell area being served by a base station, e.g. a Radio Base Station (RBS), which in some radio access networks is also called eNodeB (eNB), NodeB, B node or base station. A cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio base station at a base station site. Each cell is identified by an identity within the local radio area, which is broadcast in the cell. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the user equipments within range of the base stations.
The cellular network may apply to one or more radio access technologies such as for example Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), or any other Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio access technology.
In for example, LTE, users expect a new network to support all the services from a legacy network. To meet these needs, Inter-technology mobility is an important feature. In LTE, voice service over LTE is Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). LTE is a packet data network and VoIP is used for supporting voice on packet networks.
Inter-technology mobility is also important for introduction of new services. Inter-technology mobility, enables that a new service may be rolled out network-wide even though the wireless broadband access technology that best and most efficiently supports it has only been deployed in the highest traffic areas. Inter-technology mobility provides a bridge between the old and new access networks enabling seamless service continuity for the user over a wide area.
Inter-technology mobility may simplify rollout of a new LTE where voice services is moved to VoIP over IMS in conjunction with the deployment of an LTE access network by using inter-technology mobility together with a functionality called Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC). SRVCC is an LTE functionality that allows a VoIP/IMS call in the LTE packet domain to be moved to a legacy circuit domain, e.g. GSM/UMTS or CDMA.
When a user equipment with an ongoing IMS voice call in LTE looses its LTE coverage, provided the 2G/3G, i.e. Circuit Switched (CS) network, does not support VoIP, the user does SRVCC to 2G/3G and continues the voice call in the CS network through a Mobile Switching Centre Server (MSC). The MSC is a 3G core network element which controls the network switching subsystem elements. When the user equipment gets back into LTE coverage, the operator may want for different reasons to move the user equipment back to LTE. That procedure is called CS to PS or return SRVCC (rSRVCC). Another use case for rSRVCC may also be that the user equipment was camping in 2G/3G and started a CS voice call in 2G/3G through the MSC. After some time the user equipment gets into LTE coverage, upon which the rSRVCC is triggered.
A handover of an ongoing voice call from LTE to a 3G or 2G network, or a handover of an ongoing voice call from 2G/3g to LTE is done by using a mechanism relating to handling a dedicated bearer. In general, a bearer is a logical channel that carries some information. A bearer may also be referred to as a radio resource. One EPS bearer is established when the user equipment 101 connects to the Packet Data Network (PDN) and remains throughout the lifetime of the connection. It is called as default bearer. Default bearer provides always on IP connectivity to the network. Any additional EPS bearer is called a dedicated bearer. Dedicated bearers contexts are established when a service in the network requests a prioritising of IP packets belonging to a specific media stream between two IP addresses and TCP/UDP ports. A dedicated bearer is a bearer that carries traffic for IP flows that have been identified as requiring a specific packet forwarding treatment. A dedicated bearer is request by a user equipment to transmit data with a particular QoS.
A criterion for enabling rSRVCC may be that it should have minimal impacts on the networks. An alternative solution for enabling rSRVCC is that the user equipment reselects to LTE and then starts handing over the session from CS to PS, including both IMS transfer of the session from CS to PS as well as radio bearer setup of dedicated voice bearer in the EPC. The alternative implies large disturbance of the voice call during the handover of the user equipment, which leads to high bit rate error and reduced quality of the service for the user equipment.
Another solution, see FIG. 3, comprises a preparation phase in the source system prior to handover to the target system is started and implies a CS to PS Request from the MSC to the SGSN. The alternative furthermore implies setting up of dedicated voice bearer in the SGSN prior to the rSRVCC handover. This impacts several nodes in the network, such as the SGSN, SGW and PGW as well as PCC, which increase both the complexity of the communications network and the signaling load in the network.
A disadvantage is that it degrades the user service quality experience, e.g. QoS, call drop, interruption time, is minimized.
Another problem is that the MSC needs a procedure to find the source SGSN/MME, thus implying DNS procedures in the MSC.